The Karthika you knew may seem to be one star kid stepping into her mother's shoes. But a little known fact is that the actress is also gearing up to pursue a career in the hotel industry, quite like her dad.

"You know, there's this pressure of being the eldest kid," she says, adding, "Right now, I'm pursuing a business degree through correspondence from the London School of Economics. My parents had no intention of seeing me as a part of the film industry. I was kept away from the limelight even though I belonged to a film family. Before my Telugu debut, Josh, I was this nerdy and geeky kind of student. In fact, pursuing higher studies was the natural plan of action. Until that irresistible offer from tinseltown came calling," explains Karthika.

However, the actress is gradually settling into the film industry. While she is now winding up work on her next big film, director Bharathiraja's Annakodiyum Kodiveeranum, the actress is currently in Mumbai before she begins dubbing for the film. "I'm in no hurry to sign up for my next film. It does not matter if it takes months or years for a script with a prominent role and scope for performance to come my way. The last thing I'd do is resort to signings to impress others," she states.

Speaking of impression, the actress was in the news for impressing none other than Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle, who apparently offered her a big ticket to Hollywood. Though, Karthika dismisses it as a rumour. "Somewhere around the time my Malayalam debut, Makaramanju, released, Boyle was in Mumbai.

The film's hero, Santhosh Sivan, had then arranged for a special screening of the film for him. Apparently, he was very impressed with my acting. In fact, Boyle himself has told me that he liked my subtle performance in the film and that I look like an Indian Goddess!" she beams. "Later, I heard that he had written the same in his blog. I think it's probably this that fuelled the news of my Hollywood debut. I think that one compliment is bigger than getting to work with him," says Karthika.